These cheesy loaded radishes make the perfect low-carb side dish for any meal! Radishes are roasted until perfectly tender and then covered in melty cheese, crispy bacon, and fresh green onions for a keto recipe you will love.
Cheesy Radishes with Bacon
If you haven’t tried roasted radishes loaded up with cheese and bacon, you are in for quite a treat! Cooked radishes have a milder flavor than raw ones–The peppery spice mellows out into a slightly sweeter, less bitter flavor that takes on other flavors wonderfully. It’s similar to the taste of roasted potatoes, but they soften nicely instead of getting that fluffy texture you expect from potatoes. This side dish is a low-carb dream and is so easy to adjust for your own preferences.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Quick – This recipe takes 30 minutes and doesn’t require a ton of babysitting or stirring (just one pause to flip/stir and one pause to add on the cheese). It’s achievable on a busy weeknight with only a handful of ingredients and a sheet pan required.
- Versatile – While I used Cajun seasoning, cheddar cheese, and crumbled bacon on my loaded radishes, there are tons of delicious alternatives. You could replace those with pesto, mozzarella, and toasted pine nuts… Or BBQ rub, pepper jack cheese, and fried onions… Or ranch, colby jack, and toasted prosciutto…
- Low-Carb – A quarter of this recipe has just 2.5 net carbs and over 15 grams of fat for a super keto-friendly side dish. If you try to stick to lower-calorie, lower-fat dishes, you can reduce the amount of cheese and bacon as well. It’s naturally gluten-free, nut-free, and egg-free, too!
Ingredients for Roasted Radishes
Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need for this recipe. Find exact measurements in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Radishes – Smaller radishes found in the spring have a milder, slightly sweeter flavor, but this recipe works well with any kind of radish. Wash, dry, and dice your radishes into small pieces to start — This helps shorten the cooking time and gives more surface area for the seasoning and cheese.
- Olive oil and Cajun seasoning – Feel free to replace the olive oil with avocado oil, vegetable oil, or your favorite cooking oil. A good homemade Cajun seasoning blend brings out amazing peppery flavor from the radishes, but you could replace this with a ranch or all-purpose blend instead (just be careful with the salt… The cheese and bacon add a good dose of sodium, so you don’t want to overdo it).
- Cheddar cheese, Cooked bacon, and Green onions – Freshly shredded cheese melts smoothest, but feel free to use the store-bought pre-shredded bag! Crumble your bacon (or use bacon bits) and chop your onions nice and small.
How to Roast Loaded Radishes
For this simple side dish recipe, all you need is an oven, a bowl, and a baking sheet. To reduce the mess, consider cooking these on a silicone liner so they don’t stick. Here’s a step-by-step for this cheesy recipe.
Prep and season
Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F. While this is warming up, chop your radishes. If you have large radishes, chop them into 1/8ths but smaller radishes could be quartered.
Season
Place your chopped radishes into a bowl, then toss them with olive oil and Cajun seasoning. Make sure each piece is well coated for great flavor. Pour the seasoned radishes onto a baking sheet and spread them out in a single layer.
Cook
Roast the radishes in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then toss and flip with a spatula. Cook an additional 10-15 minutes until you see the edges are crispy and no more steam is emitting from them. The edges and bottom should be browning slightly. Exact timing will vary depending on size of radishes.
Load ’em up
Top the crispy radishes with cheese and bake an additional 3-5 minutes to melt the cheese. Let the edges brown, then remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle the cooked, crumbled bacon and chopped green onions over the melted cheese and serve immediately.
What to Serve with Radishes
These loaded radishes pair well with nearly any entree, and we love them drizzled with or dunked into a good dressing (like this homemade Buttermilk Ranch or a tasty Jalapeno Ranch for a little heat). You could top with a dollop of sour cream or sprinkled with a bit of grated parmesan, too. We love serving them with keto chicken tenders and a sugar-free lemonade for a kid-friendly, low-carb dinner.
Radishes also go well with…
- Shrimp and Grits (or keto version here)
- Garlic Butter Steak Bites (or air fryer bites here)
- Pecan-Crusted Pork Chops (for thick-cut pork chops, try this method)
- Blackened Chicken on the Grill (or these BBQ thighs in the oven)
- Crock Pot Ribs (or some smoked pulled pork)
Store
Allow your leftovers to cool, then transfer them to an airtight container and store in the fridge up to 3-5 days. I don’t recommend freezing these as is because the cheese doesn’t hold up very well. If you would like, though, you could freeze them after roasting and before adding the cheese, bacon, and green onions. Simply place the cooled, cooked radishes in a freezer bag, press out all the air, and freeze for 1-3 months. They will be a bit softer because freezing does alter the texture some, but they reheat pretty well!
Reheat
These are best fresh, right off the sheet pan. However, you can easily prep this ahead of time and finish later. To do this, follow all of the instructions through the roasting step. Stop short of adding the cheese and putting back in the oven. Instead, take the radishes out and allow them to cool before storing according to the instructions above. When you’re ready to serve, preheat oven to 350 and reheat radishes on a sheet pan for 5 minutes, then add the cheese and reheat another 3-5 minutes. Top with bacon and green onions, then serve.
If you like this easy low-carb side, you will love these keto recipes!
- Cheddar Roasted Broccoli – Even people who don’t usually love broccoli will reach for this cheesy veggie dish! It’s another baked vegetable recipe that is easy to pair with anything.
- Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower – You can enjoy crispy, cheesy edges right off the sheet pan in this quick cauliflower recipe!
- Italian Baked Mushrooms – This is a simpler side dish with less fat, but we still covered the mushrooms in a delicious garlic butter sauce before roasting them on the sheet pan!
- The BEST Smashed Broccoli – If you love crispy, cheesy edges, this is the perfect side dish recipe for you! Make a double batch–You are going to be so surprised how quickly this disappears!
- Cheesy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon – This stovetop one-pan recipe gives you perfectly tender brussels sprouts, crispy edges, crunchy bacon, chewy cheese, and AMAZING flavor!
Loaded Radishes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound radishes cut into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
- 1/4 cup cooked, crispy bacon crumbled
- 1/4 green onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Wash and dry the radishes. Cut into small pieces as pictured. If using large radishes cut them into 1/8ths, if using smaller radishes you can cut them into 1/4ths.
- Add the radishes to a bowl and toss with olive oil and cajun seasoning until well coated.
- Transfer the radishes to a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast 15 minutes, toss and roast and additional 10-15 minutes until the edges are crispy. The radishes will be crispy when no more steam is emitting from them and the edges and bottom should be browning lightly. Remember, cooking time will vary based on how small you cut them.
- Top with cheese and bake an additional 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted and browning around the edges.
- Top with the cooked, crumbled bacon and chopped green onions.